Altherm JCR Yamaha Men Hang Tough

FEBRUARY 23, 2014: If it is true that what
doesn't kill you makes you stronger, then the Altherm JCR
Yamaha Racing Team must be very strong indeed.

It was a
tough day of racing at round two of the New Zealand
Motocross Championships in Tokoroa on Sunday, but, despite
it being a brutal test of character, the Altherm JCR Yamaha
Racing Team riders all emerged with credit.

In the MX1
class, Scotsman Billy MacKenzie took his Altherm JCR Yamaha
Racing Team YZ450F to finish 3-4-2 in his three MX1 races on
Sunday, ending the day runner-up behind defending New
Zealand MX1 champion Cody Cooper, of Mount Maunganui.

It
was enough to elevate MacKenzie from third to second spot in
the championship chase, albeit still 21 points adrift of
series leader Cooper.

"I had a terrible day," said the
modest 29-year-old from Edinburgh, who considers himself
"almost as Byron Bay resident" nowadays after spending much
of the past two years living in the north New South Wales
area.

"I felt really uncomfortable on this track. But I'll
be staying with (team manager) Josh Coppins for the next
month now and I'll spend a lot more time on the bike and
that will help."

MacKenzie is using the four-round New
Zealand series as a warm-up ahead of his main focus, to
tackle the Australian Motocross Championships, which kick
off at Broadford, in Victoria, on March 30, although that
doesn't lessen his desire to win in this country.

The MX2
(250cc) class was a mixed bag for the Altherm JCR Yamaha
Racing Team, with defending national MX2 champion Scotty
Columb, from Queenstown, showing great fighting qualities to
fight through from a bad start to finish fourth in race
one.

He won the next race before suffering a huge setback
when, with dust affecting his race bike, he turned to his
back-up practice bike for the third and final race of the
day.

As his team manager Coppins comments, "that proved,
in hindsight, to be a mistake on our part".

"The engine on
the practice bike had already done quite a few hours and it
didn't survive the race."

This dropped Columb from a close
second to a distant third in the M2 class
standings.

Meanwhile, fellow MX2 class rider for the team,
Australian Jay Wilson, was on the charge.

After already
clinching the New Zealand 250cc supercross crown for Yamaha
earlier this season, the young Australian was determined to
give the new 2014-mode Yamaha YZ250F four-stroke bike a
solid racing debut and that is exactly what he's now
done.

Wilson finished 3-3-5 in his three MX2 outings --
which puts him fourth overall in the championships rankings
-- and this means he is still the best-performed of riders
on 250cc four-stroke machinery.

"We were looking solid
withb (Scotty Columb's) 2-1 results early on, but the title
is possibly out of reach for him now," said Coppins.

"We
will just keep focussed as a team and move forward from
here," said Coppins.

All is not lost for the various title
challengers and, with the championship only at the halfway
stage, there is still plenty that can happen.

The series
continues with round three at Pukekohe on March 9, with the
fourth and final round set for Taupo on March 22.

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